Simpson pursued sailing dream after safety warning

LONDON—After winning gold and silver at the Olympics, there wasn't much more for Andrew "Bart" Simpson to accomplish in sailing—except for capturing the America's Cup.

A day after he died at age 36 when his catamaran capsized during training with Sweden's Artemis Racing team in the San Francisco Bay, Simpson was remembered as a smart sailor and a mentor who shrugged off an early warning about the dangers of the latest generation of yachts.

British entrepreneur Keith Mills remembered a 2010 meeting with Simpson and compatriots Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy about a possible British team for this year's edition of the prestigious sailing competition. But Mills did not move ahead because of concerns about safety.

"We all shared the dream that we could bring the America's Cup back to Great Britain," Mills said in a telephone interview. "I thought back in 2010 (the boats) looked a very risky, dangerous proposition and that was certainly one of the reasons that I withdrew the British team."

With organizers proposing a 72-foot catamaran and 40-meter fixed wing that is bigger than a Boeing 747 wing, Mills was concerned the ability to "depower very quickly" was lacking, and could be perilous.

"Based on the specs that I saw in 2010, I was very concerned, and I expressed my concerns," Mills recalled. "But the Americans were determined to go ahead with this type of sailing which I fundamentally disagreed with.

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Simpson—along with Ainslie and Percy—couldn't give up on getting to the summit of yachting.

"They all thought they could make it work but they all recognized that none of them had ever sailed anything quite like this before and it's going to be inherently risky," Mills said. "How risky to be honest none of us really knew."

Had Simpson not been approached by Artemis last year, he and Mills would have worked together at races in 2013.

The pair were close friends, bonded by a love of sailing and Tottenham. Mills serves as a director at the Premier League club and would host Simpson at matches.

"I was looking forward to racing with him this year," Mills said. "He was going to skipper my boat this year either in the Med or in the UK, then around Christmas time, he had call from San Francisco to sail with Artemis and we had a chat about it. It was something he really wanted to do and I gave him all my best wishes."

It was a fateful decision, but Mills couldn't change his mind.

"As with a lot of the athletes, if they show an aptitude for a sport, it really gets into their bones," Mills said.

Mills has seen few sailors with the intelligence of Simpson, who was born in 1976 in the landlocked southern English town of Chertsey in Surrey.

By the age of 5, visits to his grandparents on the southern cost at Christchurch in Dorset had seen Simpson start to take to the waves.

"He was never happier than being on a boat," Mills said. "He had a big, big smile."

There was an early setback—missing out on selection for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. But a year later he established his international credentials by collecting a silver medal at the 2001 Finn European Championships.

He missed out on the Olympics again in 2004 and a year later the pursuit of his America's Cup dream began, as he joined unsuccessful challenger +39 Challenge as helmsman.

Nonetheless, Simpson found success in his partnership with Percy. The pair won a gold medal in the Star class at the Beijing Olympics, and Simpson was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in Queen Elizabeth II's honors list.

Simpson and Percy just missed out on defending their Star title at last year's Summer Games, settling for silver at Weymouth on a day Mills said was "devastating" for them.

The loss won't detract from the memories Simpson left in the sailing world.

"His real skill was as a tactician ... he's the brains on the boat trying to figure out the best strategy," Mills said. "When things went wrong racing—and they often do—he was always the guy that would pick everyone up."

Many on Britain's Olympic team saw Simpson, who was married and had two children, as a father figure.

"You were always there when we needed advice or had a bad day, you and your wise words will not be forgotten," Kate Macgregor, the youngest member of Britain's 2012 Olympic sailing team, wrote on Twitter.

Luke Patience, who won silver in the men's 470 class last year, summed up the shock.

"Devastated," he tweeted. "Bart, you are a true inspiration."

Tributes also came from the top of world sport on Friday.

"Andrew Simpson was a hugely accomplished sailor and Olympian," IOC President Jacques Rogge, a former Olympic sailor from Belgium, said in a statement. "He died pursuing his sporting passion and our thoughts are naturally with his family and friends and of course his fellow crew members who must be devastated by this tragic accident."

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